1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that processes an image taken by an imaging apparatus that can capture for example in the visible light region or infrared region.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-347821, filed Nov. 30, 2004, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
There is conventionally known a vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus in which an object such as a pedestrian with a possibility of colliding with a vehicle is extracted from an infrared image of an automobile's surroundings captured by an infrared camera, and information of this object is provided to the driver (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2001-6096).
In the vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus according to one example of the aforementioned prior art, the infrared camera that outputs an image and the processing apparatus that processes the image output from the infrared camera are set to perform image formation and image processing in accordance with a predetermined preset value that serves as an ideal reference for the image luminance value. However, differences in the luminance value setting can arise for the image output from the infrared camera and the image actually processed by the processing apparatus. This is due for example to individual differences occurring in the luminance value setting of each infrared camera when mounting the plurality of infrared cameras on a vehicle, the luminance value setting changing in accordance with aging of the infrared cameras, and the image signal output from the infrared camera attenuating or distorting in the process of being sent to the processing apparatus. For this reason, it is desirable to set the reference luminance value setting equally for the image output from an infrared camera and the image actually processed by a processing apparatus.